Barry Blair
Barry Blair (1954 – January 3, 2010)Muir, Adrian. The Art of Barry Blair and Colin Walbridge (Blair tribute web site). Accessed March 3, 2011. was a Canadian comics publisher, artist and writer, known for launching Aircel Comics (publisher of titles such as Samurai, Elflord, Dragonforce, and Men in Black) in the 1980s. From early on, Blair's art style was influenced by the comics he had seen living in East Asia, at a time when manga and other Asian comics were largely unknown in North America. His art was typically characterized by childlike figures, and included nudity and partial nudity. This continued into the erotica which became his main focus later in his career, and these attributes were a common criticism of his work.Munn, Bryan. "Barry Blair, 1959-2010," Sequential: Canadian Comix News & Culture (Jan. 5, 2010). Biography Blair was born in Ottawa, Ontario, but spent his childhood from age nine onward moving back and forth between Canada and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He attended Carleton University in Ottawa but was expelled.Wulff, Ariel. "Barry Blair" (artist/writer profile), ElfQuest official site. Accessed March 3, 2011. Some of Blair's first professional work was animation for the children's television series You Can't Do That on Television and the science show Let Me Prove It, done while he was still in his teens. In 1985, when the insulation company Blair worked for lost its contract with the government, he persuaded the owner to revamp the corporation as Aircel Comics under Blair's editorial direction.Ohlbrich, Dave. "'ASK THE DWO' Answers" (Dale Keown interview), Funny Book Fanatic (Dec. 26, 2008). Aircel became a successful independent comics publisher during the industry expansion which followed. Blair wrote and illustrated several of his own series during the early years of Aircel, including Elflord (begun as a self-published series before Aircel became a publisher), Samurai, and Dragonring. During this time he also hired then-teenager Dave Cooper to work for Aircel. In the late 1980s he took over the series Warlock 5 and began his own series Team Nippon, adults-only Leather and Lace, Gun Fury (inked by Dave Cooper), and other series. In 1990–1992 he illustrated comics adaptations of the novels Logan's Run and Logan's World for Malibu Comics (which had acquired Aircel). Blair left Aircel in 1991, forming his own production company,"Newswatch: Barry Blair Ends Malibu Contract, Starts Own Firm," The Comics Journal #144 (September 1991), p. 7. and beginning in 1992 he wrote and illustrated runs of the ElfQuest series New Blood and Blood of Ten Chiefs, and did other art and writing work for the then-expanding ElfQuest line, published by WaRP Graphics. His series Elflord and Samurai were briefly revived in collaboration with Colin Walbridge (then known as Colin Chan) at WaRP. In the early 2000s Blair and Walbridge produced the short erotic series Sapphire for NBM Publishing, and focused on work for online gaming and private commissions. They collaborated on Nymphettes, an art series featuring erotic illustrations. They joined with Santos Aleman to form Studio RealmWalkers in 2009. Death Blair died on January 3, 2010, of a brain aneurysm which had been misdiagnosed as an ear infection."Founder Of Aircel Comics, Barry Blair, Dies," Bleeding Cool (Jan. 3, 2010). He was survived by his mother, sister, brother, and his partner Colin Walbridge."Barry Blair" (published obituary), Tubman Funeral Homes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Accessed March 3, 2011. Notes References * * External links *Barry Blair at ComicVine Category:Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage Category:Erotic artists Category:People from Ottawa Category:1954 births Category:2010 deaths